Spiritual and religious questions for me

[dannerz]

I consider myself highly versed in the Jehovah's Witnesses religion.
I grew up in it.
Now I have been talking to mormons in my city and I feel i know the
basics of mormonism. It is complex though because they have more than
one bible sized book to study.
I also have read some philosophy, various subjects.
I've had visions, dreams, experiences, tests, etc.
There's a lot to be said about the spiritual.

So I am hoping for general questions.
Misc stuff.

 

[Terese]

What are these visions/dreams/experiences you have had?

 

[Aupmanyav]

What would you do with the questions? You are a learner and superstitious. Be happy in your ways.

 

[Windwalker]

I've had visions, dreams, experiences, tests, etc.
There's a lot to be said about the spiritual.

In what ways do you feel your exposure to these sorts of "we've got the real truth unlike the others" religions like the JWs and Mormons interferes with your having actual spiritual experiences?

 

[DawudTalut]

I consider myself highly versed in the Jehovah's Witnesses religion.
I grew up in it.
.....
So I am hoping for general questions.
Misc stuff.

Peace be on you.
What is significance of 1914 for you?

 

[dannerz]

What are these visions/dreams/experiences you have had?

There are a lot of them.
Most dreams i quickly forget. Even if i think it is incredibly important.
For example, many strange things happened in one of the houses
me and my brother lived in for years. Ghost stuff.
Visions are difficult. Sometimes it is clear and true.
Sometimes it is cloudy and difficult to get any value from.
Maybe if you ask a more specific question i can reply better.

 

[dannerz]

In what ways do you feel your exposure to these sorts of "we've got the real truth unlike the others" religions like the JWs and Mormons interferes with your having actual spiritual experiences?

I consider JW and Mormon stuff as examples of human nature.
I try not to get mad at the imperfections of it all.
These people are trying hard at what they've got.
It also makes me feel sorry for them.

 

[Terese]

There are a lot of them.
Most dreams i quickly forget. Even if i think it is incredibly important.
For example, many strange things happened in one of the houses
me and my brother lived in for years. Ghost stuff.
Visions are difficult. Sometimes it is clear and true.
Sometimes it is cloudy and difficult to get any value from.
Maybe if you ask a more specific question i can reply better.

Tell me that one specific dream that holds meaning to you

 

[dannerz]

Tell me that one specific dream that holds meaning to you

One of my main dreams is simple and maybe not impressive to normal folk.
I dreamed multiple times of skunks. I don't have a pet skunk, but i had a dream
where i talked to some skunks in a forest. Simple telepathy style talking.
Then I had a dream where I was trying to protect baby skunks but they
kept wondering off. And another dream that my body was covered by
adult skunks in a ball. I believe, truly, that some people can help souls.
They can improve their own soul, or the souls of others.
I want to help spirit creatures which i see frequenting the planes.
I especially want to help skunks. Seeing them in a lucid dream
means to me that they are real.

Now, that is not profound, and i bet it sounds silly.

 

[dannerz]

However I had a few dreams of nameless deities too.
They usually had huge glowing rainbow colored bodies and could instantly
hear a person's thoughts and prayers. They were surrounded with friends and monks.

 

[Katzpur]

I consider JW and Mormon stuff as examples of human nature.
I try not to get mad at the imperfections of it all.
These people are trying hard at what they've got.
It also makes me feel sorry for them.

As a Mormon, I wonder what it is about my beliefs that makes you feel sorry for me.

 

[dannerz]

As a Mormon, I wonder what it is about my beliefs that makes you feel sorry for me.

Well, I find that difficult to explain.
You're so hopeful. The whole belief system is hopeful.
The world is a terrible place in some points of view, with everything eating each other and dieing in cycles.
The ideology took years to form and make. It has some kind of answer to almost any human question.
What if the creator wasn't a nice guy? You'd be so sure that he was a nice guy, that it wouldn't
matter if he was nice or not, you'd probably keep the same beliefs.

On the other hand, you may all be right. I wish I knew for sure.
That is why i go to church and meet with the missionaries.

It's not a sorry like pity. You guys seem cheerful besides hopeful.
I don't know how to word it now.

 

[Terese]

One of my main dreams is simple and maybe not impressive to normal folk.
I dreamed multiple times of skunks. I don't have a pet skunk, but i had a dream
where i talked to some skunks in a forest. Simple telepathy style talking.
Then I had a dream where I was trying to protect baby skunks but they
kept wondering off. And another dream that my body was covered by
adult skunks in a ball. I believe, truly, that some people can help souls.
They can improve their own soul, or the souls of others.
I want to help spirit creatures which i see frequenting the planes.
I especially want to help skunks. Seeing them in a lucid dream
means to me that they are real.

Now, that is not profound, and i bet it sounds silly.

hmm. I've had dreams like that but i don't find them particularly meaningful. To me they are just dreams.

 

[Katzpur]

Well, I find that difficult to explain.
You're so hopeful. The whole belief system is hopeful.
The world is a terrible place in some points of view, with everything eating each other and dieing in cycles.
The ideology took years to form and make. It has some kind of answer to almost any human question.
What if the creator wasn't a nice guy? You'd be so sure that he was a nice guy, that it wouldn't
matter if he was nice or not, you'd probably keep the same beliefs.

On the other hand, you may all be right. I wish I knew for sure.
That is why i go to church and meet with the missionaries.

It's not a sorry like pity. You guys seem cheerful besides hopeful.
I don't know how to word it now.

That's really an interesting perspective. You know, I'm not the proselytizing type, and pretty much everybody here on RF who knows me (I've been around for almost 11 years now) will confirm that. For that reason, I rarely speak out and try to sell people on my religion. But every day of my life I thank God I'm LDS. Sure, there are things about the Church (not its doctrines, but its policies) that annoy me to no end. But when I stop and think about how I was raised and about the incredible sense of meaning my beliefs give my life, I'm really just overwhelmed by how fortunate I am. I talk to people on another forum I participate on who were raised in Christian homes where they were continually threatened with hellfire and damnation, where they were made to feel as if they came into this world as the most degenerate creatures imaginable, deserving of God's complete contempt. I grew up believing that I had a Father in Heaven who knew me personally and loved me unconditionally, and wanted to have me and my family return home to His presence to all be reunited eternally. I can't imagine having to deal with the trials of life without my religion's teachings concerning the gospel of Jesus Christ. No one ever need feel sorry for me.

 

[dannerz]

Peace be on you.
What is significance of 1914 for you?

For me, personally, i think it was a terrible event caused by both natural and spiritual forces.